Rating: 
Summary: One more author making money from Prozac controversy......
Review: I expected this to be a book that you are so engrossed in that you can't put it down. Not to be! The author is so intent on using poetic words and phrases that you lose interest right from the start. "And the flour was snow" "the purple silk of a plum", blah, blah, blah! She is so intent on sounding like a philosopher that she forgets that people expect to get answers from the book, or perhaps that was not her intent at all. Anyway a HUGE dissapointment. If you want to read it, borrow it from your local library.
Rating: 
Summary: A memoir at once level-headed and profoundly moving
Review: I found Lauren Slater's PROZAC DIARY to be both level-headed and profoundly moving. Slater writes beautifully, in rich, lyrical and sometimes comic prose, and her language leads the reader inside essential questions about mental illness, chemical "cures", and--in the end--the nature of the self, not just Lauren Slater's own self, but all our selves, in illness and in health. This is a wonderful, moving, deeply intelligent book. I am grateful to her for writing it.
Rating:
Summary: This is an eye-opening book
Review: I had read about Prozac and its effects before I purchased this book. What I had read before was a joke. The author of this book describes her journey through Prozac in poetic style. She paints a picture of what life was like before, during, and after Prozac. Before she was nuts, shortly after taking Prozac she was highly functional, after the "Prozac Poop-out" she was nuts again. When Prozac stopped working they had to keep increasing her doseage, even to dangerous levels, to keep her functional. If you are interested in the effects of Prozac on mentally ill people, you will love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Flowery writing distracts from her message
Review: I have been perplexed by the many positive references to Ms. Slater's writing style. While she has some interesting insights into the relationship between Prozac and the self, too often the message is obscured by her efforts to be "poetic." It seems Ms. Slater cannot write a paragraph without dropping a half-dozen overwrought metaphors. She "overwrites" in the same way that dinner-theater thespians "overact." It is interesting (if, perhaps, a little bit unfair) to compare her style to that of Elizabeth Wertzel in her _Prozac Nation_. Ms. Wertzel, a genuinely gifted writer, packs her story with penetrating observations and insights; one can truly feel her desperation. Ms. Slater, in spite of (because of?) her purple prose stylings, rarely seems to dip far below the surface of her experience. In all, _Prozac Diary_ is worth reading, but not really worth pondering. Lauren Slater may become a good writer someday, if she would quit trying so damn hard.
Rating: 
Summary: an interesting book carried by her strong writing
Review: I have read reviews that call this a great book and I think that's a bit of an overstatement but it is worthwhile as an honest and very well-written account of everything they don't tell you about Prozac in those magazine ads. Slater did write a great book, her first one, "Welcome to My Country," and this follow-up seems a calculated attempt to capitalize on the first bit of acclaim she won with something sexy like Prozac. Still, she can pull it off because she has so much insight and writes so well.
Rating:
Summary: i loved it
Review: i loved lauren's book 'prozac diary'. i love her writing in general because she depicts her life as both beautiful and staggeringly painful. this is a difficult thing to do but writing can sometimes be a doorway out of that pain. it's very much an artform to be able to transform the pain of one's life into something useful, something that communicates and i think she does this very well. i don't believe people should be so heartless in their criticism. not every book is going to be a fit for everyone, no matter what their expectations and although not everyone can relate to this type of book i think it's hard to deny that it communicates intelligently.
Rating:
Summary: Dull, dull, dull.
Review: I really wanted to like this book, but sadly, it's dreadful. All the cliches about self-obsessed little rich girls apply. Her writing is good, but she just doesn't tell us much. What caused her depression, anorexia, and anxiety? Biology? Abusive parents? Original sin? I've struggled with depression myself, and hoped to find something here that spoke to my experience. No such luck.
Rating:
Summary: Hello Lauren
Review: I thought you might like this book. I know by saying that, I, might seem rude, but I mean it only in the best sense - however you take it. It's a good book for anyone, especially girls named Lauren! So read it if you haven't already; you will not regret it. I read it in a couple of hours; I couldn't put it down. You will not either. Please read it.
Rating:
Summary: Not too bad
Review: Interesting account of woman's transcendence from self-loathing to success. Not as good as Prozac Nation though.
Rating:
Summary: Not too bad
Review: Interesting account of woman's transcendence from self-loathing to success. Not as good as Prozac Nation though.
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